Bangladesh in 1996

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A republic and member of the Commonwealth, Bangladesh is situated in the northeastern part of the Indian subcontinent, on the Bay of Bengal. Area: 147,570 sq km (56,977 sq mi). Pop. (1996 est.): 123,063,000. Cap.: Dhaka. Monetary unit: taka, with (Oct. 11, 1996) an official rate of Tk 42.10 to U.S. $1 (Tk 66.32 = £1 sterling). Presidents in 1996, Abdur Rahman Biswas and, from July 23, Shahabuddin Ahmed; prime ministers, Khaleda Zia until March 30, Mohammad Habibur Rahman until June 23, and, from June 23, Sheikh Hasina Wazed.

Prime Minister Khaleda Zia decided to hold parliamentary elections on Feb. 15, 1996, despite the threat by the Awami League (AL), the main opposition party, to boycott the polls unless she stepped down and allowed a caretaker government to take power before the voting. Before the election at least 13 people were killed and hundreds wounded in clashes between the opposition and government security forces. The AL’s call for a boycott was heeded, and fewer than 10% of eligible voters turned out for the polls. About a dozen people were killed during the election. The electoral commission invalidated the results for 100 of the 300 contested seats because of fraud.

Following opposition-led paralysis of the Bangladeshi economy and fearing possible military intervention, Zia offered to step down in favour of a "nonparty" government that would conduct new elections. Sheikh Hasina Wazed (see BIOGRAPHIES), the AL leader, rejected the offer and demanded instead that the Zia administration be replaced by a caretaker government.

On March 26 Parliament passed a law allowing the formation of a caretaker government, and former chief justice Mohammad Habibur Rahman was chosen to head it. New elections were set for June 12. Surprisingly, this election campaign was not marred by widespread violence. Voter turnout was as high as 73%, and, according to international observers, the elections were conducted fairly. Nevertheless, Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) claimed that there had been fraud and demanded new elections in 100 constituencies.

Having won a plurality, with 146 seats out of a possible 300 (to the BNP’s 116 seats), Sheikh Hasina was asked to form the new government. In an ironic twist of history, however, the AL had to rely on the support of Hossain Mohammad Ershad’s Jatiya Party for its parliamentary survival. The AL had been instrumental in forcing Ershad out of the presidency in 1990. Moreover, Ershad, who had been serving a prison sentence for corruption and abuse of power, had been accused by Zia of complicity in the overthrow and subsequent assassination of her late husband, Gen. Zia ur-Rahman, in 1981. In her first Cabinet, Sheikh Hasina included Anwar Hossain Manju, the secretary-general of the Jatiya Party.

In December Bangladesh and India signed a 30-year treaty to share water from the Ganges River, a sign of improving relations between the two countries.